


To The Ends of the World for You

by darktensh17



Category: Dragon Age
Genre: M/M, Rape, Rescue, Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-02
Updated: 2014-08-06
Packaged: 2017-12-04 02:09:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/705300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darktensh17/pseuds/darktensh17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The battle against Danarius is lost and Fenris is taken away. Anders, Hawke and co decide to mount a rescue mission bintegrating into Tevinter society in order to get Fenris back. Things don't go so well when Anders discovers Fenris' memories have been erased. Written for psikitty</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [psikitty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/psikitty/gifts).



If anyone came over to Anders and asked him jovially, ‘Oh, Anders, what do you hate about Tevinter?’ Anders’ reply would be, ‘Everything.’ There was nothing about Tevinter that Anders liked, except maybe the baths, so truly his reply would be, ‘I hate everything except the baths.’ And then he would promptly incinerate whoever had dared ask him about Tevinter before the dreaded question came, ‘If you hate Tevinter so much then why are you in Tevinter?’

Indeed, even when the potential questioner existed only as a pile of cinders in the dirt, Anders found himself asking the same question: Why was Anders, spirit healer, possessed mage, and award winner of the most escape attempts from the Circle Tower in the Imperium? Did you think he was going to say Tevinter again? Also he never won any awards for escaping the tower, that’s just a lie.

The fact was that Anders was here because of an elf; to be more specific, a snarky, mage hating, silver haired elf, with lyrium tattoos and the best damned ass in Thedas. Anders was also in the Imperium for love. As much as he would never have admitted it before they started this journey, he loved that elf. When they had failed to keep Danarius from taking him, Anders had decided that it was time to mount a rescue mission. No one took his snarky, silver haired elf and got away with it.

So this was why Anders was in Tevinter.

 

It wasn’t just Anders, though; Hawke, Carver, Isabela, Merrill, Varric and even Sebastian were all there as well. Aveline hadn’t been able to come on account that she was the only sane person with any power in Kirkwall. Anders was willing to give her a pass for that and also because she would stick out like a sore thumb here, due to her flaming red hair. She certainly attracted attention in battle, which was her role: to keep the mages and rogues safe … it had been Fenris’ role too.

The one time he had needed to be kept safe, they had failed him. Anders still had nightmares of the moment Danarius had taken him down, pushing past his defences and blasting him against the wall. For some reason Anders still did not understand, Danarius had let them live. Perhaps he gained some twisted pleasure in making them watch him enthral Fenris with blood magic and force him to follow after the Magister like a loyal hound.

They had lost Fenris that night, but they were here to get him back. Anders just didn’t like how long it was taking. Danarius was a powerful Magister and it would be near impossible to just blow up his mansion and take Fenris. It would also be dangerous to all the slaves that lived there. So they were taking slow steps, ones that would ensure that they had a fool proof plan that couldn’t be screwed up too badly.

The first real fruits of that plan were being implemented tonight. Anders and Hawke had begun making a name for themselves when they had come to Tevinter. Varric had acquired a modest villa for them and they had used that as not only a place to live, but had also begun buying slaves with the intent on teaching them to be free. This was the main reason that they had brought Orana along, she had made great progress over the years and was able to help the former slaves understand what would be happening.

Merrill was playing the role of a slave as well, but she was also going to be their only source in combating blood magic. She spent most of her days reading through the books Varric found for her. Something Anders was supposed to be doing, but found it hard to concentrate on with the knowledge that Fenris was so close.

Tonight they would finally see him. One of the important Magisters was holding a ball at his villa. Varric had gotten them invitations after they heard rumours that not only Danarius but his prized pet would be there as well.

/We will save him. What has been done to him is an injustice./ It often surprised Anders how often Justice spoke about Fenris, especially given how Anders had put aside their own plans for the furtherance of mage liberation in order to save the elf. /He is a companion and he calms us./

Anders knew exactly what Justice was talking about. He was talking about Vengeance, the demon Justice was slowly become due to Anders hatred. Vengeance had only emerged on one occasion but it had been enough to scare Anders. Fenris had witnessed it and despite all his words about Anders being an abomination he had sat with Anders after and comforted him. After that it had seemed as though just being around Fenris was enough to keep Anders and Vengeance calm.

Anders shook his head to banish the memory. “It’s more than that and you know it. Especially when all you claimed before was that he was a distraction.”

/My opinion has changed since then./ Anders wasn’t sure if it was just him but it sounded almost like Justice was embarrassed.

“There’s nothing wrong that, I’m just wondering at the sudden change of heart.” Not that it mattered, Anders was glad that Justice had come to accept that Fenris was an important part of Anders life, even if the elf didn’t quite know it.

He received no reply from Justice, not that it bothered him too much, Anders wasn’t too sure he really wanted to know Justice’s reasons for the change of heart. Anders also prayed it had nothing to do with the sometimes stray thoughts of ‘lick the lyrium elf’ that crossed his mind at times.

“Anders, are you ready to go yet?”

Anders looked up as Hawke entered the room, dressed in deep maroon robes that made him appear not only more regal but also more powerful. “Varric chose well when he picked out your outfit.”

A light blush dusted Hawke’s cheek as he brushed off the robes. “Well, I am supposed to be the one catching all the attention. That’s why you’re in those blue robes. They’re cut nicely, made out of fine materials, but they don’t scream at people like mine do. Varric really knows his stuff.”

“That’s why we trust him as a strategist.” Taking one last look in the mirror to make sure he was decent, Anders prayed to the Maker that they would succeed tonight. He knew the goal wasn’t to get Fenris today, but to make contact with him and let him know they had come. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” he finally admitted as he turned to face Hawke. “Let’s go. I can’t bear to wait a moment longer.”

Hawke nodded, looking grim as they headed out the door. Hopefully Merrill and Carver were ready. It was a risk taking Carver but they needed him in case anything went wrong.

-

Anders finished another circuit of the large ballroom at the bottom of the grand staircase curving up the length of the room. As he pretended to sip his wine, he discretely combed the marble steps leading to the second floor and the Magister’s private apartments. Not surprisingly, he spotted neither smooth hide nor luminous hair of his quarry. Shifting his weight and projecting nonchalance, he scanned the busy dance floor, careful not to let his gaze linger on the dizzying patterns. Again, although his eye caught on the delicate pointed ears of the many barely dressed male and female slaves carrying trays of food and drink, he did not see the perfect features he desired.

Finally, Anders swallowed a bitter sigh and began his next circuit, surreptitiously glancing into the curtained alcoves lining the ballroom and listening in on the conversations between Magisters and lesser mages. He could only take so much of hearing about Tevinter politics and the latest fashions in dinner arrangements, though, and he wondered how the terrible heart of the Tevinter Imperium could be so Blighted boring.

Things were already going horribly wrong . Rather, things were going as planned, but everything was wrong. Hawke had captured attention as soon as he entered and Anders had faded into the background. He was making his way through the crowd to find Fenris or at least learn what he could about him. There was tons of gossip to listen to, rumours about Danarius finally bringing his pet into public, the only problem was that so far Danarius had not shown up. Anders was beginning to think the rumours that he was supposed to appear were false.

“I’ve heard he turned him into a body slave; he was wasted as a warrior.”

“No, no he drinks from him to gain more power; why else do you think he’s lost so much power these last 10 years.”

“Perhaps Danarius is merely too afraid to show his face because he didn’t get his precious little elf back.”

“After the loss of his last apprentice and taking in an elf as his new apprentice I think it’s just shame.”

“I’m relieved not to have to deal with him quite frankly.”

It was amazing how vicious these people were with their words. It seemed so long as the person they were speaking of wasn’t there, they had no issues with speaking ill of them in every way. Anders didn’t like the way they were talking about Fenris and was having trouble not setting some of their robes on fire.

Anders was just about to give up on the entire night and head home when the room suddenly went quiet. Everyone seemed to turn as one to the entrance as Danarius walked in. Just the sight of him made Anders’ blood boil.

The anger he felt evaporated and everything seemed to freeze as Fenris trailed in after Danarius, his gaze fixed on the floor but occasionally darting up as if to take in any sign of danger. It reminded Anders of how Fenris had always been looking around at everything on their many travels with Hawke, always taking into account any possible threat.

While this part of Fenris had not changed, the months had changed him physically. His hair had grown longer, falling to his shoulders, his posture was not the confident walk it had once been, and the Sword of Mercy was missing from his back, replaced instead by a blade made of black steel that matched his new black armour. The armour seemed to cling to him like a second skin and looked to be made with a material Anders had never seen before, which seemed to ripple as Fenris walked. It almost reminded Anders of the Dragon Scale armour that Wade used to make; only the craftsmanship on this was a hundred times better than Wade’s. Most of all, and the most disturbing part, was that the lyrium markings seemed to pulse with a red glow that Anders had never seen before. From where he stood, though, Anders could sense the blood magic that practically seeped out of Fenris.

Danarius had lost Fenris once and it seemed that nothing was going to take him away again.

Their mission had just gotten a lot harder, but that wasn’t going to stop Anders from succeeding. Just the sight of Fenris brought new hope to him and caused his heart to clench with need.

/We will save him./ It was almost a mantra now and Anders was no longer sure if the words were Justice’s or his own. In this their thoughts were one and the same.

He jumped when Hawke suddenly appeared beside him. “I don’t like this. There’s obviously blood magic at work.” The other mage paused, not able to stop himself from adding, “The hair looks good, though. Do you think we can convince him to let it grow out more?”

Anders ignored the last comment, though he actually agreed with it. “I have to talk to him, to let him know we’re here to save him. It’ll be a lot easier if he’s on our side. I can also see if I can’t gain any information about the spell on him. The hard part will be getting close enough to him.”

“That’s what you have me for.” The grin Hawke sent his way was equal parts charming and terrifying, and even more worrying.

“We’re not here to get ourselves killed. Carver would murder me if anything happened to you, after which he would find a way to resurrect you and then kill you, too, for dying.” It was true enough. As much as Carver was a brat, he obviously cared about his brother and didn’t wish him harm. He had actually calmed down somewhat since he had gotten together with Merrill.

Hawke patted him on the back. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a foolproof plan that will get his attention off Fenris for awhile. You just make sure to get close enough to talk to your broody elf.”

Before Anders could protest that Fenris wasn’t his broody elf, Hawke was gone. Sighing, Anders carefully began to make his way through the crowd, trying to remain as uninteresting as possible. Which, given how relatively unknown he was, wasn’t all that hard. The harder part was getting to Fenris through Danarius’ fawning peers.

Suddenly, a bang sounded from one corner of the room, followed by a cloud of smoke. Anders wasn’t sure what Hawke’s distraction was, but it allowed Anders to get close enough to cast a weak paralysis spell on Fenris, he would apologize later, and drag the elf to one of the curtained areas .

He wanted to say something to calm Fenris, there was a look of panic on the elf’s face and his eyes were wide, the iris practically swallowing the pupils. It also didn’t surprise Anders to see anger in Fenris’ face; it was more familiar than the look of fear. There was no time for words though, not until they were somewhere private. Unfortunately dragging a paralyzed Fenris was like dragging several piles of bricks; the warrior may look slight but he was made of almost pure muscle.

Once Anders had dragged Fenris into the area and closed the curtains, he finally turned to face the elf, hardly daring to believe this moment had come.

Swallowing thickly and taking a deep breath, he stepped closer to Fenris. “Fenris… it really is you.”

Anders heart plummeted and his blood seemed to freeze in his veins at Fenris’ reply. “Who are you?” There was no recognition at all in Fenris’ face, no matter how much Anders searched, there was however something else there, annoyance perhaps? While the face looking back at him was Fenris’ there was no sign of his Fenris there.

Anders forced a smile. “A friend. One who has come to help you, to save you from Danarius.” Perhaps Anders should not have been as surprised as he was at Fenris’ next words.

The elf tilted his head to the side studying Anders carefully but never meeting his eyes. He did not seem alarmed, merely confused. “Why would I wish to be saved from Master? He is kind and treats me well, better than a slave deserves to be treated. In return, I am allowed to stay by his side. Always.”

The utter adoration that Fenris seemed to have for Danarius made Anders feel ill. He had tried to imagine the worst possible scenario to this rescue, but it had not been this. After everything Fenris had fought for he had been reduced to someone who knew and cared for nothing but Danarius. “He’s a bad person, Fenris. You ran from him because of that. You never told me much about it, but I know he used to do horrible things to you, and he put those markings on you. Now he’s made you forget.”

Fenris looked startled and then seemed to consider this for a long while, his brow furrowing in thought. “How did you know that I have forgotten everything before the last few months? Master said that I took a Qunari axe in battle.” Considering his mind had been erased, Fenris seemed to be pretty wordy about things, Anders had never thought Danarius would care for a slave who was so opinionated; not that Anders would have Fenris any other way.

“He’s lying to you,” Anders felt bold enough to take Fenris’ hands in his own, delighting when it wasn’t immediately pulled away the only reaction Fenris had being a slight widening of his eyes and a momentary tensing. Did he perhaps remember Anders touch? “You had a whole life away from him. Freedom. And friends.”

Anders watched as Fenris considered their joined hands. This Fenris was so different from the Fenris of Anders’ memories; more curious than cautious, he appeared almost innocent instead of the seeming cold hearted warrior he had been. 

“You said you were my friend. If what you say is true, then why did you allow Danarius to take me?” There was nothing accusatory in Fenris’ tone but Anders felt like the words were barbs aimed at his heart. They only served to remind him that they should have come for Fenris sooner.

His hands trembled slightly at the memory of that day. “We tried to stop him. You asked Hawke and the rest of us to go with you to meet your sister. You were afraid it was going to be a trap and you were right.” It still pained Anders so much to remember that day. “We fought Danarius, but we weren’t strong enough to defeat him. In the end he won and he took you.”

Anders watched Fenris carefully as he spoke, taking in the expressions that seemed to cross his face. At first he looked startled, angry even, and then pensive. Fenris’s large green eyes stared into Anders’ own one honey ones before looking away quickly as any good slave would, except a good slave would never have dared meet another’s eyes. “And now you say you have come back for me.” He shook his head then and stepped away from Anders, pulling his hands away with what seemed like regret. “I am sorry that you have come all this way for nothing.” And just like that he was gone once again from Anders life, only this time it was by his own will.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for rape in this chapter

His sudden disappearance had gone unnoticed by Master it seemed, apparently an upstart mage had managed to make it into the party and create what was first thought of as a meaningless ruckus but had turned into entertainment for the gathered guests. Of course Magister Tretius, who was hosting the party, claimed it had been planned from the beginning; it was likely though that he was simply using it to his advantage. A magister never wasted any opportunity for gratification and political interest. Everything was an opportunity. 

Master had merely scoffed and commented on cheap parlour tricks and useless wastes of magic. Even though he had only caught the tail end of the comment, Fenris had made no reply. It was not a slaves place to comment on the actions of their betters. 

They had left the party soon after due to his master becoming bored with the party. Master had come to show off Fenris, to reintroduce him into society, and to make all the other magisters squirm. He has accomplished that easily until the ‘entertainment had begun. Afterward he had merely stayed to see if any amusement was to be had at the expense of the host but had been sadly disappointed. 

Fenris had followed after Master obediently, trying to keep his thoughts from straying to keep his mind off of what happened, dwelling on such thoughts would bring him no peace and would only serve as a distraction. He wasn’t able to though; the memory of the meeting remained at the front of his mind, like a stray hair that tickled his nose no matter how much he pushed it away. 

By the time they got back from the party all he could think about was the meeting. He was relieved when his master dismissed him for the time being so that he could go and bathe. While this gave Fenris time to himself, he knew that it meant that he was required to bathe as well since Master would be summoning Fenris to his chambers tonight.

It was something that Fenris was accustomed to; his master had always been very fond of him. It was rare that Fenris was not in his master’s company and that included at night. The feel of his master’s hands all over him was something that Fenris was used to and had always accepted as something that was natural. After all he was his master’s property and it was a slave’s duty to keep his master happy. 

Suddenly something that had seemed natural before had his stomach rolling. Fenris had always thought being the only one called into his master’s bed was an honour, proof that Master loved him above anyone else. No though, he was not so sure. The words spoken to him swirled around his mind. Could they be true? 

Fenris dared not make his Master unhappy though and so he went down to bathe. While Danarius did not tolerate his slaves looking anything less than perfect in their grooming and clothing, most of the slaves wore identical ‘uniforms’; he also did not grant them any joy in their bathing. The bathing area for slaves was one room that both males and females used; it consisted of a pump, bucket, and cheap soap. The slaves had to pump the cool water and then wash using that and the bucket. There was also a pool for rinsing off in but it was rarely used as the water was usually frigid due to a rune on the bottom. Danarius was not a kind man and enjoyed torturing his slaves in little ways.

Today Fenris decided to use the pool. The cold water would keep his mind from wandering, or so he hoped. Unfortunately as he washed he had no luck keeping his mind from going back to the meeting. There was something so familiar about the man that made Fenris wonder if perhaps his word were true. 

Anders. The name echoed in Fenris’ mind like a mantra. He knew that was the man’s name but Fenris was sure that not once had it been spoken. Was it proof that what Anders had told him was the truth?

Despite how suddenness of the situation, and the things that had been said about his master, the entire situation had left a mark on Fenris that he could not deny, one that he was not sure he liked. Everything was suddenly turned around; the thought he was having and the doubts, they were not appropriate for a slave to have. The suddenness of them made him even more uncomfortable; had he always had these thoughts and feelings before his injury.

Shaking his head Fenris quickly finished washing, it would not do for Master to finish bathing and find that Fenris was not waiting for him. While his master was usually fairly kind he did not tolerate or forgive any form of disobedience. Fenris had received whippings and worse for being late or hesitating during a task. The worst punishment was when Master used magic on his brands, causing them to burn horribly; a sensation that did not go away completely for days.

Fenris slipped on his clothing and armour and quickly headed up stairs to wait in his master’s study. He took his position on his knees next to the writing desk. Master enjoyed cataloguing the days more interesting events in a journal before he retired to bed. Usually he would have Fenris lay his head on his lap and pet it while he was writing

Suddenly he was feeling unusual things, there were thoughts swirling in the back of his mind that were not his own. And as he followed Master into the study there were doubts. Doubts about whether his memory had been lost because of wounds sustained in battle or not. 

Master loved him though, more than any other slave. Didn’t he? 

Fenris shook his head quickly dispelling the thought because he knew it was true; no other slave stayed at Master’s side as much as Fenris did and though he was not trained as a body slave Master took him into his bed and was always gentle with him.

He tried not to remember that it always seemed wrong, as though Master’s touch was supposed to be different.

Perhaps it was lucky that he did not have to wait long to be summoned to his master’s room. The thoughts he was having were dangerous thoughts for a slave. He belonged to Master Danarius and no one else. 

“Come pet.” Master purred, and Fenris stood and entered the room, coming to stand before the bed were his master was lounging. “You are far too over dressed Fenris.” 

While Danarius did not give a verbal command, Fenris knew what was expected of him. Slowly he began to undo the catches of his armour, letting the metal drop to the floor carefully once it was removed, the gauntlets followed after. 

His master’s eyes devoured him as he stripped. “You are so beautiful my pet, come here and let me help you finish.” 

Eyes to the floor, Fenris took the last few steps that would position him in front of the man. “Exquisite.” Danarius murmured, as he ran his hands over Fenris’ brands, thumbs running along the lines as they fed down his body. The markings flared to life and Fenris had to fight back a cry of pain as Danarius pulled power from them. “So very perfect.”

“M-Master.” Fenris could not fight back the plea, the pain when Danarius drew upon the markings was always great, and beyond anything Fenris could recall with the exception of receiving the markings.

“I know pet.” The pain seemed to last forever but in reality it was only a few moments, and then his master was pressing a kiss above his navel before slowly pushing his leggings down. “How I ever allowed you out of my sight,” the words were murmured, but Fenris picked them up easily. 

Fenris stored the words away to ponder later, now would not be the time, it would not do to give any of his thoughts away to his Master, they were the only small bit of freedom he had. Instead he focused on the task at hand while tucking as much of himself away into his mind as he could. 

For whatever reason his master seemed to be in a possessive and cruel mood tonight, he pulled Fenris on to the bed, pressing his lips to one of his sensitive elven ears and biting down cruelly, causing Fenris to jerk and cry out. It seemed tonight Fenris’ pain would ring him pleasure.

Fighting back the urge to fight back was a struggle. Whether it was from pain or fear, some part of him told him that he could end this; it would take very little to phase his hand and rip out Danarius’ heart. Never before had Fenris ever entertained thoughts of harming his Master, they were terrifying thoughts that only served to confuse him further. 

Had Anders cast some sort of spell on him? Fenris had known the man was a mage but he had seemed harmless in comparison to Danarius and other magisters Fenris had seen in the past. Whatever had occurred between them though had changed Fenris somehow, awakened something within him that Fenris did not like.

A slave must serve his master in every way and obey him without thought. 

He repeated the mantra in his head as Danarius continued his molestations. The word was unfamiliar to Fenris knew that it was the correct word. There was no part of him that wanted to endure Danarius’ touch, it left his skin feeling unclean, and it always had though it wasn’t not until this moment that Fenris realized this. He felt revolted.

“You are much too quite today pet; I hope that your thoughts are on your master and no one else.” The words were clipped; Fenris could sense that his master was angry. They were also accompanied by a surge of lightning sent through Fenris’ body, causing him to shout in pain, back arching off the bed and almost completely bowed.

This time the pain lasted longer than when Danarius had been drawing from his markings, this was punishment and there would be no mockery of kindness to follow. 

When Danarius finally relented his onslaught, Fenris was drenched in sweat, his muscles twitching as a result of the lightning, and his voice was raw from his shouts.

Danarius looked at him with anger and disgust. “Look what you have made me do. Tonight I would have been kind to you, shown you caring and allowed you to take pleasure, but you seem incapable of keeping your thoughts where they belong. Should I see what is keeping you from pleasing your master?” He asked idly, his eyes never leaving Fenris’.

It took an immeasurable amount of will power for Fenris to keep fear from showing on his features at the threat. “Punish me master, I have been a bad slave.” Anything was better than having his mind possessed and violated by his master’s powers. Struggling he slipped off the flower and prostrated himself before the man. “My thoughts should be only of you and they have strayed to idle thoughts.” 

Perhaps whatever god or gods that existed were looking after him that night. 

“Very well Fenris, but do not think I will be so lenient next time. Get up on the bed and present yourself to me, it is time to remind you who you belong to.” Fenris could see that Danarius had no patience and so he hurried to obey. Hurrying back on to the bed and returning to the position he had just been in, with his backside presented to Danarius to do with as he pleased.

His master grabbed his hips hard, digging blunt nails into the flesh there. “I do not know what your thoughts were Fenris, I will allow you to keep them for now, but do not forget that every part of you belongs to me. Repeat it to me.” 

“Every part of me belongs to you.” Fenris repeated dutifully, screaming as his was entered roughly. “Every part of me belongs to you.” He repeated, his voice cracking and cries punctuating the words.

There was no pleasure in this for Fenris, nor was there meant to be any. Danarius’ thrusts were cruel, and meant only for his own pleasure and as a lesson to Fenris: only good slaves deserved tenderness. 

A particularly harsh thrust sent Fenris sprawling, his hands pushed out from under him by the force of it. A scream was ripped from his throat and it was all he could do to keep himself from dissolving into a trembling mess. He struggled to push himself up enough to that he could speak. “Every part of me belongs to you.” 

He repeated the words again and again, until finally with a grunt and a disgusting sigh of satisfaction, Danarius tensed and spilled into him. There was a moment of stillness when there was no movement before Danarius pulled out and kicked Fenris to the floor.

“Go and clean yourself up, you will sleep outside my door tonight.” Without a second glance at him, Danarius began to clean himself off and Fenris took the chance to crawl out of the room, fighting to get to his feet only after he was out of his cruel master’s sight.

That night after he had cleaned up, Fenris imagined what it would be like if what the mage Anders had said was true. He had never desired freedom, but the thought of living by his own choices, doing what he wished, even something as simple as eating when and what he wanted helped him to attain peaceful sleep. He knew that it could only be a dream though; his master would never let him go. 

Fenris allowed himself the luxury of the dream, but not the senseless of hoping it would ever become reality.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, a fic that I haven't updated in forever. . .because I am a horrible writer when it comes to updating (hence putting myself on a schedule now).

“So we’re just going to do nothing?!”

Hawke watched his friend pacing back and forth. He understood Anders frustration but at the moment their hands were tied.

After the party Anders had been tight lipped and obviously upset. He had refused to say anything until they had returned to the small estate that Hawke had purchased for their stay in Tevinter.

Varric had been very clear about Hawke needing to play the role of a magister perfectly. No magister worth their weight in gold would be caught dead living in a place that was not absolutely magnificent. What Hawke’s new estate lacked in size could be fixed by showing off his wealth.

Hawke had wondered how Varric knew so much about Tevinter society but the dwarf had only offered him a grin. “A man has to have secrets Hawke.”

Sighing, Hawke ran a hand through his hair and stood up, grabbing Anders by the shoulders and forcing the man to look at him. “Would you rather we put his life in danger by going in there blindly? I know you want to save him, we all do, but we can’t be stupid about this. That’s how we lost Fenris in the first place, by being unprepared.”

“We can’t just let Danarius get away with this! He took Fenris away from us in more ways than one! You didn’t see it!” Anders voice cracked and he pushed Hawke away to go and slump into one of the plush red chairs that furnished the library. “He didn’t know who I was, there was nothing of my . . . of our Fenris in his eyes.”

Anders had given them an account of what had happened when he had met with Fenris. Every single detail had been laid on the table, and while Hawke understood what Anders was saying it was still hard to believe. How could the Fenris they knew be gone?

He knew though, as easily as Leto had once been destroyed by Danarius, so to had Fenris.

“We’ll save him Anders, none of us wish for Fenris to remain on Danarius’ hands.” Hawke looked over as Merrill knelt before Anders, taking his hands and holding them in her own small ones. “Do not give up hope.”

It amazed Hawke how much of a comforting figure Merrill had become on this trip. She was the one who had spent the most time with Anders after Fenris had been taking, offering what comfort she could. At first Anders had spurned it, blood magic had helped in Danarius’ victory after all, but she had not given up, and now as Hawke watched, Anders allowed Merrill to pull him down into a hug and murmur comforting things that only Anders could hear.

Hawke took that a moment to look around the room at everyone who was gathered; Carver, Isabela, Sebastian and Varric on top of himself, Anders and Merrill had all come to Tevinter in the hopes of saving Fenris. Somehow despite all the issues everyone had with each other, this event had brought them closer.

His eyes met Carver’s who nodded grimly before his gaze focused on Merrill. It was cute how protective he was of her, with the exception of what was going on between Merrill and Anders, Carver and Merrill were the two who had become closest. He hadn’t wanted her to accompany them to the ball that night, even though she had never been in any danger. Even knowing that Merrill couldn take care of herself if she was in danger.

It was still cute though.

“I have a friend who can help us get closer to Danarius, it won’t be easy of course but if we can get into the right circles we can get an invite to Danarius’ villa. Of course that is assuming he won’t recognize Hawke.”

Varric’s words had Hawke reaching up to touch his face where his beard had once been. Not only that but he had been forced to change the colour of his black hair to red. Blond made him look too Ferelden, and brown hair would not have been enough of a difference. Hawke thought he looked ridiculous; Isabela seemed to love it though.

“How long will that take? Week, months, years!? We don’t have that amount of time Varric!” Anders shouted, stopping his pacing for a moment to glare at Varric. “He needs us to rescue him now.”

Not at all put off by Anders anger, Varric went on. “My friend is a fairly well known magister, she’ll get us in as quickly as possible. Trust me Blondie, if we’re going to get Fenris back without risking him being hurt and all of Tevinter standing against us, we’re going to have to take things a little slower than we may like. But I swear we’re going to get Broody out of that man’s hands.”

Anders didn’t say anything, instead he turned on his heel and left the room, allowing the door to slam shut behind him.

Hawke sighed and ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the strands. “It won’t matter how much you try to assure him, nothing is going to be good enough for him until we have Fenris back. Get your contact here and we’ll see what she can do for us. It won’t hurt to have a backup plan in place as soon as we can. Something along the lines of break in, grab Fenris, break out.”

“In my opinion those are the best sorts of plans.” Isabela remarked from where she was draped in one of the chairs. “Although they do tend to be the messiest.”

“That’s why it’s going to be the backup plan.” Hawke reminded her.

“I am concerned about the fact that Fenris does not remember us. Even if Varric’s plan goes on without any problems and we are able to gain access to Fenris. Who is to say he would come with us and not try to attack us?” Sebastian asked, bringing their second biggest problem to the table.

Isabela chuckled a little at that, though it wasn’t a chuckle of amusement. “With the backup plan we worry about that after we’ve rescued him.”

Varric shook his head at her words. “He has a point Rivaini, Broody is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. If we have to try to fight him and battle our way out we may not succeed.

The thought gave them all pause, as they considered what they should do. Personally Hawke thought that the more diplomatic approach, getting close to Danarius, was the one that offered the least chance of failure. Or at least it would be the least messy. But both of their options did going off without too much trouble did seem to hinge on the fact that Fenris would go with them willingly.

“Perhaps if we could combat the blood magic controlling Fenris.” Merrill spoke up softly. “We all saw the red pulse Fenris’ markings were giving off. It didn’t feel as though it was the lyrium itself. That is, I think it’s normal lyrium and not red lyrium. But I do believe it’s a very powerful spell cast with blood magic, it may be attached to his memories being gone.” She fidgeted slightly in her seat, never one to be sitting for long. “I’ve been reading the books on blood magic diligently, and I think if I knew more about the spell I may be able to break its hold on Fenris.”

Carver grinned at her, like a happy puppy. “That’s brilliant Merrill!”

The others nodded in agreement, the idea has quite a bit of merit, the only problem would how they were going to determine what spell was being used. “Your friend Varric, she doesn’t practice blood magic does she?”

“Nah, but she knows a lot about it. You don’t become a magister in the Imperium without being able to hold your own against blood magic.” Varric explained with a shrug. “She’ll be a powerful ally though, and with her, Daisy and Blondie on our side, if it comes to a battle against Danarius and his cronies, we should have no problems.”

Hawke nodded, liking the sound of that. “If she’s knowledgeable them perhaps she can eve aid Merrill and Anders in figuring out what the spell is and ways to break it. When can we meet her?”

“She’ll have to travel to Minrathous, but it shouldn’t be more than a few days. Most of the time she stays in her summer villa out of the way of all the politics of the Imperium, unless she doesn’t have a choice. Luckily for us it isn’t unusual for her to show up at random parties. She’s never been one to follow the status quo.”

“She sounds like my kind of gal.” Isabela remarked. “Who needs to be like everyone else; do what you want when you want.”

Laughing Varric nodded Isabela’s way. “You’ll like her Rivaini, I have no doubt about that.”

“Alright, get a hold of her as soon as you can. The sooner we start putting a plan into action the better. We don’t know what Danarius is doing to Fenris but whatever it is it’s probably best to get him away from it as soon as we can.” Hawke said, looking around the room at everyone. “For now everyone keep doing what you’ve been doing. We may be at a bit of a standstill now, but the more information we have gathered the better for us when we start moving again.” When everyone agreed, he turned to face the door. “I’m going to go and talk to Anders, tell him what the plan is. Maybe it will cheer him up some, if not well I’ll try to find something to occupy his attention until Varric’s friend gets here.”

He didn’t wait for anyone to say anything as he left the library and went off to find Anders. He knew that there were only two places he would be likely to find him; Anders room, or the garden in the back of the villa. A quick peak into Anders’ room revealed he wasn’t there, that left only the garden. Hawke wasn’t surprised at all when he came out to find Anders staring up at the moon.

“Are you watching for shooting stars?” He asked conversationally, as he walked over to stand beside Anders.

Anders glanced over at him through the corner of his eye. “Why would I be doing that?”

“My father used to say that if you saw a shooting star and made a wish on it, then your wish would come true. Of course you have to say the magic words first.” Hawke added.

“And just what are those?”

“Starlight, star bright, shooting star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.” Hawke recited, smiling to himself at the memory of his father teaching himself and the twins the rhyme.

Anders chuckled at that. “We had something similar in the Anderfels, but it was on the first star of the night. The rhyme was almost the same except for it was ‘first star I see tonight.’”

Hawke grinned over at him. “Well it’s a starless night, maybe you’ll see a shooting star and it will be doubly lucky.” Almost as if by fate a shooting star streaked across the sky. Shocked he and Anders shared a glance before both clasping their hands together and repeating the rhyme as they had learnt it as children. Afterward there was a moment of silence as they said their wish.

“I don’t like the thought of leaving him in Danarius’ clutches even a minute more, but I know that if we just barge in there Danarius may very well have us killed or even kill Fenris to keep us from taking him.” Anders murmured, closing his eyes sadly. “It’s one thing Justice and I agree on completely, we can’t leave him in Danarius’ clutches any longer than we have to.”

“None of us want to take a slow path to freeing Fenris, but getting him free also means getting out of Tevinter in one piece. If we go in recklessly it’s probably going to end very badly.” Hawke told him. “Varric is going to get a hold of his friend, she’s going to come here and hopefully in addition to getting us closer to Danarius, she’s going to help us find a way to break the spell on Fenris.”

Hawke turned to Anders, waiting for the other man to look back at him. “I promise Anders, if this doesn’t work we are going to storm Danarius; estate, cause maximum havoc and rescue Fenris, even if it means throwing him over our shoulders kicking and screaming as we hightail it out of Tevinter.”

The comment earned him a chuckle. “Maximum havoc sounds like a good plan. Maybe we can cause that anyway, just to give Danarius a big screw you for everything he’s done.”

“I think that can be scheduled into our plans. Given everything the bastard’s done, I’m pretty sure everyone will be on board with getting back at him in someway, even after he’s dead.” Hawke said, his expression going grim. “And he will die for everything he’s done to Fenris. I swear that in the Maker’s name.”

Anders nodded grimly in agreement. “Thank you Hawke. I’m sorry for storming out, but with Justice and I both angry at how slow things are proceeding, I couldn’t stay in that room one moment more.”

Hawke placed a hand on Anders shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. “I know Anders. We’re going to free him though, we just have to be patient.”

“It’s always easier said than done.” Sighing Anders looked up at the sky once more before turning to the villa’s entrance. “Let’s go back in. I should talk to Merrill about what she’s learned, see if we can’t start piecing a plan together, or at least ideas, on how to combat Danarius’ spell. I can’t believe she’s actually studying blood magic.”

“Not for herself though, you know she’s not going to use it with the same naivety she did before, not after what happened to Marethari.” Hawke didn’t enjoy remembering what had happened to the Dalish Keeper, but at least they hadn’t been forced to fight the rest of the clan. “It’s also one of the reasons she’s trying so hard, even if she and Fenris never really got along, he’s still part of what she considers to be her family, her new clan even.”

Anders sighed as they headed back inside. “I know, her determination is just making me look bad.”

Hawke laughed at that. “That’s an easy fix, you’ll just have to start working hard to and when Varric’s friend comes, you’ll have to behave like a good little student.”

“Even in the Circle I was never a ‘good little student.’” Anders pointed out, but he was smiling now and appeared to be in a better mood and for Hawke that was what mattered most.


End file.
